Season 2018

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• An early starter, his first taste of rally competition came aged 13 when he co-drove for his father in a Subaru Impreza WRC

• Mads wears his heart on his sleeve. If he’s frustrated or delighted, you’ll know

• Østberg is aiming to follow in the footsteps of fellow Norwegian, 2003 world champion Petter Solberg

• When he’s not driving a rally car, Mads enjoys putting his cooking skills to the test. He took part in the Norwegian version of Masterchef in 2014.

The story so far

Østberg only turned 30 in October 2017 but he already has 25 years of motorsport experience to his name.

The Norwegian started competing aged four and steadily moved up the motorsport ladder until selecting rallying as his chosen sport in 2004. Having scored various successes at domestic level, Mads made his WRC debut in 2006 at the wheel of a Subaru Impreza WRC.

He continued to build on his WRC experience over the next few years – and added a brace of Norwegian Rally Championship titles at the same time in 2007 and 2008 – at the wheel of cars run by his family’s Adapta team.

Østberg’s big break came in 2011 when he switched to a Ford Fiesta RS WRC. He led sensationally in Sweden before eventually finishing second to factory Ford driver Mikko Hirvonen. His sixth place in the final championship standings showed what Mads was capable of.

Another impressive season followed in 2012 and that prompted the Qatar M-Sport World Rally Team to recruit the Norwegian for 2013. His best results came in Sweden and Finland where he finished third.

In 2014 he joined the Citroën factory team as team-mate to Kris Meeke. The season started well, and in Mexico defending champion Sébastien Ogier singled out Østberg as one of his chief rivals. The season was tainted by a run of poor results mid-season, but three podiums and a second place in Italy showed his potential.

He remained at Citroën in 2015 and impressed early on with second places in Mexico and Argentina. However his form dipped in the second half of the year and despite ending the season with more points that his team-mate Kris Meeke, it was no great surprise when Mads announced he was leaving the French squad to return to M-Sport for 2016.

Now co-driven by Ola Fløene, following a split from long-time navigator Jonas Andersson, Mads was a regular podium contender. He proved to be one of the most reliable point-scorers too - with just one finish outside the top ten all season.

Nudged out of M-Sport’s lead team by the arrival of Ott Tänak and Sébastien Ogier, Østberg will start his 2017 campaign in Sweden at the wheel of a Fiesta World Rally Car.

Nudged out of M-Sport’s lead team by the arrival of Ott Tänak and Sébastien Ogier, Østberg drove a private Fiesta WRC on eight events in 2017, recording a best result of fifth in Spain.

He returns to Citroën for 2018, an initial deal covering just Rally Sweden but expect to see more events added to his itinerary.